Ridge board holder



Nov. 20, 1956 B. W. JOHNSON RIDGE BOARD HOLDER Filed on. 25, 1953'INVENTOR ATTORNEY$ United States Patent RIDGE BOARD HOLDER Bruce W;Johnson, Crystal Lake, Ill. ApplicationOctober 23,1953, .Serial No..388,022

:3 Claims. (Cl. 33- 1-80) This invention relatesto supports-sandmoreparticularly to an improvement in adjustable ridge board jigs orholders for use in building construction.

The main object of the invention is to provide a novel and improvedridge board holder which is adapted to be used to support a ridge boardduring the erection of the framing of a building, said holder beingsimple in construction, being easy to use, and being adjustable to apredetermined desired height to support the ridge board in its desiredposition for accurately measuring rafters and other roofing frameelements during the course of construction of a building.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved ridge boardholder which involves inexpensive components, which is sturdy inconstruction, which is easy to adjust to a desired height, and whichgreatly reduces the amount of time and labor required in positioning aridge board on the frame of a building.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparentfrom the following description and claims, and from the accompanyingdrawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary front elevational view, partly in transversevertical cross section, of a building, showing the manner in which aridge board holder according to the present invention is employed tosupport a ridge board in position for the accurate measurement andplacement of the rafters on the building frame.

Figure 2 is an enlarged elevational view, partly in vertical crosssection, of the ridge board holder employed in Figure 1 and itsarrangement with respect to the ridge board and supporting joist.

Figure 3 is a side elevational view of the structure shown in Figure 2.

Figure 4 is an enlarged horizontal cross sectional view taken on theline 4-4 of Figure 2.

Figure 5 is a horizontal cross sectional view taken on the line 5--5 ofFigure 2.

Figure 6 is an enlarged horizontal cross sectional detail view taken onthe line 6-6 of Figure 2.

Referring to the drawings, 11 designates a building of conventionalconstruction having a roof structure including horizontal joists 12,rafters 13, and a ridge board 14 which is disposed between the abuttingupper ends of the rafters 13, 13 and secured thereto.

In measuring and positioning the rafters 13, it is desirable to supportthe ridge board 14 in its intended position and for this purpose ridgeboard holders, such as the ridge board holder 15 are employed, the ridgeboard holders being secured 'on the joists 12 and being adjusted to theproper height to support the ridge board 14 in its intended position.

Each ridge board holder 15 comprises a main tubular support 16 havingrigidly secured to its lower end, as by welding or the like the arms 17,17 of a pair of d iametrically opposed supporting brackets 18. Thebrackets 18 are of right-angle shape and have the relatively long basearms 19 which extend in diametrically opposite directions outwardly fromthe lower end of the main tubu- 2,770,886 Patented Nov. 20, 1956 larsupport 16, and are apertured, as shown at 20, to receive nails 21 orother suitable fasteners for securing the support'lti in an uprightposition on a joist 12 at the "midpoint of the joist, or at any otherdesired location of the joist over which the ridge board must belocated.

Slidably received in the main tubular support 16 is the tubular rod 22which may be clamped in anadjusted elevatedposition projecting from thetop end of the external tubular support 16 by means of a set screw 23threaded throughthe top wall portionof the support 16 and beingclampingly engageable' with the inner tubular rod 22. Threadedly engagedon the top end of the. rod 22 .is the collar 24, said collar beingformed with :the outwardly projecting horizontal annular flange 25. Ad-

7 justably secured on the flange 25 in diametrically opposed positionsthereon are the respective angle brackets 26, 26, the angle bracketshaving the legs 27 which are formed with longitudinal slots 28 throughwhich extend the fastening bolts 29, said bolts being engaged throughdiametrically opposed apertures provided in the flange 25 and beingprovided with the clamping nuts 30, which when tightened, lock the legs27, 27 in desired adjusted positions on the flange 25. Thus, theupstanding arms 31, 31 of the brackets 26, 26 may be adjustedsymmetrically on opposite sides of the center line of the tubular rod 22to define a spacing therebetwen to receive the ridge board 14 and tosupport the ridge board in its intended position, as shown in Figure 2.

The main tubular support member 16 is provided with the foot scale 32,marked off in feet and fractions thereof, as shown in Figure 3, and theextensible tubular rod 22 is provided with an inch scale 34 marked offin inches and fractions thereof, whereby the rod 22 may be accuratelypositioned at a desired elevation above the supporting joist 12.

It will be readily understood that by using the ridge board supportingholders above described, the ridge board may be accurately supported inits intended location, greatly facilitating the measurement of therafters 13 and the placement of the rafters in proper positions inabutment with the ridge board.

While a specific embodiment of an improved ridge board holder has beendisclosed in the foregoing description, it will be understood thatvarious modifications within the spirit of the invention may occur tothose skilled in the art. Therefore, it is intended that nolimitationsbe placed on the invention except as defined by the scope of theappended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A ridge board holder comprising a tubular support, means for securingsaid support in an upstanding vertical position on a building frameelement, a tubular rod slidably received in said support, a set screwthreaded through a top portion 'of said support and being engageablewith saidrod for clamping said rod in an adjusted elevated positionprojecting from the top end of said support, an annular collarthreadedly engaged on the top end of said rod, a horizontal annularflange on said collar, and a pair of spaced upstanding parallel armsadjustably secured on said flange and being adapted to receive a ridgeboard therebetween, said tubular rod being provided with an inch scaleextending along its length and the tubular support being provided with afoot scale along its length, for setting said collar to a desired heightabove said building frame element.

2. A ridge board holder comprising a vertically extensible andretractable support, a circular flange on said support lying in ahorizontal plane for disposition against the horizontal bottom edgesurface of a ridge board extending diametrically across said flange,thus to support the ridge board at a selected elevation above a portionets adjacent the opposite sides of the ridge board, saidbrackets beingmounted upon the flange for adjustment toward and away from the centerof the flange along a line extending diametrically of the flange, forshifting of the brackets into engagement with the opposite side surfacesof the ridge board along a path perpendicular to the length of the ridgeboard, said brackets respectively including vertical arms extendingupwardly from the flange to engage said sides of the ridge board.

3. A ridge board holder comprising a vertically extensible andretractable support, a circular flange on said support lying in ahorizontal plane for disposition against the horizontal bottom edgesurface of a ridge board extending diametrically across said flange,thus to support said ridge board at a selected elevation above a portionof a building frame on which the support rests, and a pair of identicalbut opposite L-shaped brackets slidably mounted upon the flange atdiametrically opposite locations for adjustment toward and away from theflange center along a common path lying diametrically of the flange soas to effect the adjustment of the brackets along a line normal to thelength of the supported ridge board, each of said brackets including ahorizontal leg in slidable contact with the flange and having aconnection to the flange, and a vertical arm eiitending upwardly from ithe plane of the flange for engagement against the adjacent side edgesurface of the ridge board on adjustment of the respective bracketstoward each other.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,848,476 Hall Mar. 8, 1932 2,535,141 Kenney et a1 Dec. 26, 19502,541,793 Thompson Feb. 13, 1951 2,584,015 Hawes Jan. 29, 1952

